Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 95.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 52,216 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,563 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $2,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,292,000 after purchasing an additional 505,727 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 279.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 415,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,587,000 after purchasing an additional 305,868 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 81.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,432,000 after purchasing an additional 229,004 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,788,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 414.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 256,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,836,000 after purchasing an additional 206,966 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blue Bird Stock Up 2.7 %

BLBD opened at $41.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.62. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird Co. has a 1 year low of $17.79 and a 1 year high of $59.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 80,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,532.77. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total transaction of $1,573,539.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 299,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,669,801.16. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BLBD shares. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Roth Capital lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.14.

Blue Bird Profile

Blue Bird Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells school buses in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Bus and Parts. It offers Type C, Type D, and specialty buses; and alternative power options through its propane powered, gasoline powered, compressed natural gas powered, and electric powered school buses, as well as diesel engines.